LaRose declined to disclose the contents of the note, which he said he had yet to read in its entirety.

Ludwig Schumacher was found dead by hanging inside his apartment at 8 Carmichael St. at about 1:50 p.m. Wednesday, police said. Gunnar’s cause of death has yet to be released, pending toxicology results, the police said.

The teenager, whose 15th birthday was next month, was absent from Essex High School on Tuesday and Wednesday, LaRose said.

Investigators spent much of Wednesday and Thursday trying to retrace the final days of the father and son, the chief said.

“We are continuing to do interviews,” LaRose said. “We are trying to nail down when they were last seen.”

LaRose said it was possible the two deaths did not happen within a short time frame. Police expect to know more once autopsy results are returned, the chief said; it will take a couple of weeks before the toxicology reports from both autopsies are known.

The authorities have not commented on a possible motive.

Divorce proceedings

Schumacher and his wife, Christina Fitzgerald Schumacher, married Oct. 22, 1994, in Jericho. They had two children, Gunnar and a daughter who turned 17 on Wednesday — the day the bodies were found.

The couple separated July 18, and she filed a relief-from-abuse complaint July 24, according to court records.

The Burlington Free Press reported online Wednesday night that a relief-from-abuse order had been imposed on Ludwig Schumacher by a Vermont Superior Court judge.

Judge Brian J. Grearson found the abuse extended only to Christina Schumacher and not the children, according to the Aug. 21 court order.

The judge said he found that Schumacher had abused his wife, had attempted to cause physical harm, and there was a danger of further abuse.

Grearson prohibited Ludwig Schumacher from committing further abuse or making threats. The judge also directed Schumacher not to follow or stalk his estranged wife. Christina Schumacher also sought and obtained an order prohibiting her estranged husband from being within 300 feet of her, her residence or her workplace.

Grearson also ordered Sonny Schumacher not to phone, write, email or contract his estranged wife, except he could e-mail her to arrange parent-child contact.

Grearson granted Christina Schumacher, 48, a final order for relief from abuse on Aug. 21 for one year against her husband and gave her sole possession of the family home at 34 Bobolink Circle, where they have lived since 2008.

The judge also told Ludwig Schumacher that he could remove his personal possessions only in the company of law enforcement.

Christina Schumacher stated in court papers that her husband made about $160,000 annually by serving as an executive for Timberlane Dental and as a colonel with the Air Force Reserve.

She wrote that their marital assets totaled in excess of $1 million.

Christina Schumacher used court filings to paint a picture of her husband as controlling their lives.

“I have no idea even what the bills are to be paid,” she wrote in court papers. “I do not have access to the passwords to our accounts and our joint credit card has been maxed out!

“It is also my understanding that my husband is on a spending spree buying a new car, flat screen TV, an apartment and plying our teenage son with cash and gifts including, but not limited to new skis, new ski boots, new bike as well as a gaming station,” the filing continued. “Finally I have no liquid assets with which to pay an attorney to protect my marital rights.”

A temporary order filed with Judge Linda Levitt indicated the couple would share custody of their son, but Christina Schumacher would have temporary sole legal and physical parental custody of their daughter, who is a junior in high school.

Ludwig Schumacher also was ordered to provide his wife her passport and to surrender all weapons.

When Christina Schumacher completed the divorce papers in September, her husband attempted to dodge having the documents served on him, according to Burlington Constable Gordon Gilbert.

Gilbert said when he went to Timerlane Dental in South Burlington, a secretary said she would go get Schumacher, but returned several minutes later to say he was not there, but a new pickup truck believed to be Schumacher’s was still in the parking lot.

“I am on the opinion that Ludwig had asked Kathy Montera to say that he was not in when in fact he was. I base this on the facts along with 30 years of law enforcement experience,” Gilbert, a former Burlington police sergeant, wrote.

The divorce court ordered the Schumachers to attend a “Coping with Divorce” seminar by Dec. 9. Records show he completed the course by Oct. 25, but there was no court record of Christina Schumacher’s completing the course.

Christina Schumacher had worked more more than 25 years at MyWebGrocer, GE Healthcare, IDX Systems, A.G. Anderson Concrete and the Chittenden Bank, according to her LinkedIn profile. She told the court in September that she had been unable to work outside the home since February. It was that month she created her own consulting firm, Athena Business Consulting, her profile said.

Christina Schumacher petitioned the court in September to award her $7,000 a month as interim spousal maintenance to “equalize the parties’ income” and for her to meet expenses for their two children.

She also asked for an additional $25,000 as “an advancement of attorney’s fees.”

By early October, Ludwig and Christina Schumacher agreed she would receive $3,000 a month, no child support and $10,000 for legal fees. Ludwig Schumacher agreed to cover all household and medical expenses.

The two Burlington lawyers in the divorce case could not be reached for comment Thursday. Former Vermont Tax Commissioner Harriet Hults King represents Christina Schumacher, and Thomas Plog is listed as Ludwig Schumacher’s attorney.

Professional background

Schumacher served as the chief financial, executive and operating officers for Timberlane Dental and was a colonel with the Air Force Reserve, according to court documents.

He also served as campaign manager for former Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie in 2004.

Schumacher found himself defending a plan by Dubie to host one of his campaign fundraising events before a concert designed to benefit the Vermont Military Family Assistance Fund, which supported those with loved ones fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dubie eventually donated all the money from that day to the charity.

The Vermont National Guard, where Schumacher was a longtime member, said Thursday it was limited about what it could say about him because he moved to the U.S. Air Force Reserve, serving in the New England region.

Since 2012, Schumacher was an emergency preparedness liaison officer in Vermont, according to Master Sgt. Jerry D. Harlan, a public affairs manager for the Air Force in Florida.

These officers, when activated during a disaster response event, provide federal and state officials with an analysis of Air Force capabilities that are available, Harlan said.

“Col. Schumacher has been an EPLO for about 2 years and has performed his duties satisfactorily during this time,” Harlan said.

“On behalf of the men and women of the VT National Guard our thoughts and prayers are with the Schumacher family,” Cray wrote in an email.

Schumacher wrote on his LinkedIn page that he was chief of safety for the 158th Fighter Wing from 1996 to 1998 and held command, supervisory and staff positions with the Air Guard from 1998 to 2006. He also wrote that he served as director of operations for military support from 2006 to 2011.

The Vermont Guard said they could not confirm the information Schumacher listed on his LinkedIn profile.

Schumacher also wrote he worked part-time for a Stowe law firm while serving as a full-time Air National Guard pilot.

Both the Vermont Supreme Court and Vermont Bar Association said they were unable to identify any law firm that Schumacher worked for in Vermont. His law license was active 1993 to 1995 and has been inactive since at least 2003, the court said.

Contact Mike Donoghue at 660-1845 or mdonoghue@burlingtonfreepress.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.